Russia is mainly a northern country with long-lasting cold winter. The food should give us much energy and warmth to survive during the winter time. So, the essential components of Russian cuisine are the ones, which provide more carbohydrates and fat rather than proteins. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely used in food. So, the top five components of a Russian meal are:Potato (boiled, fried, baked, potato chops, potato pancakes, potato soup, smashed potato) Bread (bread, toasts, bread-crumbs)Eggs (boiled, fried)Meat (pork and beef – chops, stakes)Butter (usually added in all meals and spread on bread)Also popular: cabbage, milk, sour cream, curds, mushrooms, lard, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, berries, honey, sugar, salt, garlic, onions.To cook, you will need vegetable oil, salt, and petter.
Appetizers: What to start your meal with: gurkins, cabbage, salads traditionally served in Russia.
Appetizers are usually eaten before the main course and sometimes are accompanied with an alcoholic beverage.Appetizers:Salted cucumbers (soleniye ogurscy) – small or medium size cucumbers which were kept in the salted water with spices for several weeks, traditional
vodka snack.Salted cabbage (kvashennaya kapusta)– another vodka snack: the pickled cabbage is being kept in the jar for the several days.with berries, salt and spices. Herring in sheepskin coat (seledka pod shuboy) – small pieces of the herring mixed with the boiled potato, beet, carrot and mayonnaise.Fresh vegetables (svejie ovoshy) – the salad made of cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Usually made with vinegar or oil.Salmon caviar (ykra) – red or black. Traditional Russian appetizer. Black one is far more expensive. Usually served on ice. Russians prefer to eat toasts with butter and caviar.Medley (vinegret) - pieces of herring, chopped beet, cucumber, carrot, potato and oil. One of the few vegetarian salads in national cuisine.Boiled beef tongue (yazyk) – slices of the tongue, served with horseradish.
Russian Soups: Traditional Russian soups: beetroot Borsch, cold summer Okroshka and more...
Soup is an important part of every meal in Russia, usually eaten in the afternoon.Soups:Borcsh – the famous Russian soup made of beet and meat, usually served with sour cream.
Borsch. Vegetable soup (shie) - the soup made of cabbage, potato and meat. There is also the specification called “shie postnie” –the same soup without the meat.
Fishsoup (uha) – the fishsoup with carrot, spices and potato
Chiken soup (kuryniy soup)Mushroom soup (grybnoy soup)
Noodle soup – popular countryside dish made of homemade noodle, potato and meat sometimes.
Cold soup (okroshka)– gold “kvas” with vegetables, potato, eggs and spices
Main Courses: Vegetable and meat dishes that are served at dinner and supper: Pelmeni, Beefstroganoff and more...
Main courses are eaten at the dinner (afternoon meal) and at the supper (evening meal). Most often they include meat (beef, chicken, fish) or vegetables and are served with various salads.
Omelets - usually eaten in the morning
Sausages – usually served two sausages with ketchup
Pelmeni. Chops (kotlety) – made of various kind of meat in various regions
Pelmeny – the small balls of minced meat covered with the pastry
Vareniky – it looks like pelmeny however inside the pastry there is no meat but berries, potato or curds
Steak (otbivnaya) – beef and pork ones are most popularBeef stroganov – pieces of beef prepared with cream sauce
Kiev style chicken (kotleta po-kievsky) – the special type of chicken chop with butter inside Potato with mushrooms - favourite countryside meal
Garnishes & Dressings: Potatoes, grechka, Russian kashas and nice sauces and dressings to go with it...
Garnishes are usually always eaten with a main course (vegetables or meat) and are served both at dinner and supper. Quite often garnishes are served with different sauces, like mustard and khren.
Fried potato - potatoes fried in saucepan, sometimes with onion, salt and pepper can be added. Unfortunately, most restaurants serve now french fries instead
Grechka (buckwheat)
Boiled potato in jackets - traditional meal, usually served with salads and sauces
Baked potato - there's a nice fast-food chain in Moscow, called "Kroshka-Kartoshka", they cook nice baked potatoes.
Buckwheat (grechka) - our favourite garnish, unfortunately it doesn't grow in Europe, because of its strange taste, but it's really nice.
RiceSauces —Soured cream (smetana) – served with most of the soups and fresh vegetables
Ketchup – most popular sauce for the meat dishes
Mayonnaise – served with many salads
Mustard (gorchitsa)Horseraddish (khren).
Russian Desserts: Bliny (pancakes), syrniki (made of quark), honey and many more sweet things to make you happy... :-)
Desserts are usually eaten after the main course or at breakfast. The favourites are: Pancakes (bliny) – served with soured cream, honey or jam.
Oladi – same as pancakes, but thicker and more feeding.
Pastries (pirozhky) – the pastries with apple are most popular.
Honey (med) - honey from Altay region is considered to be the best.
Tvorog - cottage cheese (or quark), usually served with honey or berry jam.
Syrniki - can also be called "tvorog burgers" because they are made of tvorog and fried on a sauce-pan after. Usually eaten with honey, sweet dressings, or jam.
Vodka, mors, medovuha, Russian beer... and how to make your own Kvas
Russians like authentic beverages, like vodka or mors (a berry drink). Also, coffee and tea (with sugar and lemon) are popular.
Beverages:
Kvas – the bread based sweet beverage.
The most popular original beverage in Russia.
Medovuha – the honey based sweet alcohol beverage.
Kompot - boiled water with fruits and sugar, served cold.
Prostokvasha – the milk based acid beverage, served cold.
Samogon – home made vodka, with the strong smell.
Vodka – most popular Russian brand.
Beer – Russian beer in general a bit acid.
Russian Food
